Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 return with $456 million reference

Israel Adesanya, the former two-time UFC middleweight champion, has been on a self-imposed hiatus following his upset loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. However, a victory for Dricu du Plessis at UFC 297 over Sean Strickland has brought him back from the hiatus.

‘The Last Stylebender’ recently commenced training at City Kickboxing under Eugene Bareman but revealed that he is nursing an injury and could only initiate his training camp in February. Active on social media, Adesanya has fueled rumors of his comeback at UFC 300.

Israel Adesanya drops UFC 300 hint

Israel Adesanya’s recent Instagram story hinted at his potential comeback at UFC 300, possibly against the Dricus du Plessis. Adesanya’s Instagram story was a picture from the movie 300, which starred Gerard Butler as King Leonidas. Directed by the acclaimed Zack Snyder, the movie went on to make $456 million at the global box office

Adesanya followed the post with a picture of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman from the Rumble in the Jungle. The image is possibly a subtle hint at the fight with Dricus du Plessis, considering both Adesanya and DDP are African. Despite Adesanya residing in New Zealand, he was born and raised in Nigeria before his family immigrated to New Zealand.

Israel Adesanya had already hinted at fighting du Plessis after the South African fighter called him at UFC 297. At the time, Izzy posted on social media videos of the duo’s unlikely encounter at Tiger Muay Thai, where du Plessis was sparring with Alexander Volkanovski.

Adesanya also uploaded a reaction video for UFC 297, where he and his brother savagely roasted the ‘title reign’ of Sean Strickland, which ironically lasted just 4 months without a title defense. He had earlier predicted du Plessis to win at UFC 297 by submission in a prediction video before the fight.

Dricus Du Plessis wants Adesanya fight

Dricus du Plessis made his intentions known in the post-fight speech of UFC 297 as he savagely called out Israel Adesanya. “There was another guy who tried to take my shine; he lost his shine. Now, I have your shine. You didn’t get into the cage tonight, Israel Adesanya, get your ass back in the UFC so we can settle the score,” du Plessis called out Adesanya at the Scotiabank arena.

Adesanya was presumed to be cageside for UFC 297 as per the words of his lawyer at the Auckland court, where Adesanya appeared for his drunken driving charge. Dricus du Plessis had earlier stated his interest to become the light heavyweight champion and he was aware of it at UFC 297.

“I saw Alex get into the cage, and I thought, well, okay, here we go again. Let’s do the face-off right now. Let’s see if I can gain some time, but it looks like that’s not happening,” du Plessis said at the post-fight speech as he was certain that the UFC won’t go the direction of double champ for the South African.

Adesanya has a significant history with both du Plessis and Pereira, and it’s likely that he will headline UFC 300 against either of the two. Pereira is Adesanya’s eternal rival, with a 3-1 overall record and a 1-1 standing in MMA. On the other hand, du Plessis and Adesanya have previously clashed over their African heritage.

Do you think that Israel Adesanya will headline UFC 300? Leave your prediction below!